NBC Sports Continues NHL Coverage Leading Into Sochi Games

NBC Sports Group's hockey coverage continues this week with three NHL matchups, a College Hockey doubleheader, and the start of live hockey coverage from the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, all on the heels of the NHL regular-season games across NBC and NBCSN reaching nearly 15 million viewers in January, the best ever month for coverage across the two networks.

NBCSN's live Olympic hockey coverage begins this Saturday, Feb. 8 at 3 a.m. ET when Team USA faces Finland in women's hockey action. Team USA is comprised of 11 Olympic veterans, led by captain Julie Chu, who will be making her fourth Olympic appearance. The U.S. Olympic women's team enters the Sochi Games as the top-ranked team in the world, with victories over rival Canada in all four exhibition contests prior to the Games. The U.S. Olympic men's team begins competition on Thursday, Feb. 13 against Slovakia at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

This week's NHL coverage begins tonight when the Colorado Avalanche visit the New Jersey Devils at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. John Forslund (play-by-play) and Joe Micheletti (analyst) will have the call from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Coverage continues tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, as Alex Ovechkin (Russia) and the Washington Capitals host John Tavares (Canada) and the New York Islanders. Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (analyst) will provide live commentary from Verizon Wireless Center in Washington, D.C.

Coverage continues on Wednesday Night Rivalry, when Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins visit Team USA goaltender Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres at 7:30 p.m. ET. Forslund and Micheletti will have the call from First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

NHL Live, NBC Sports Group's live NHL pre-game and post-game studio show, airs at 6:30 p.m. ET, one hour prior to this week's games on NBCSN. Russ Thaler will this week's coverage alongside former players and analysts Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick.

In addition to its NHL coverage, NBC Sports Group's College Hockey coverage continues with a Hockey East doubleheader between Maine and No. 14 Notre Dame. Dave Goucher (play-by-play) and Ken Hodge (analyst) provide live commentary Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET and Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
|Date |Coverage |Network|Time (ET) |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
|Mon., |NHL Live |NBCSN |6:30 p.m. |
|February| | | |
|3 | | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |Colorado at New Jersey |NBCSN |7:30 p.m. |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
|Tue., |NHL Live |NBCSN |6:30 p.m. |
|February| | | |
|4 | | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |N.Y. Islanders at Washington |NBCSN |7:30 p.m. |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |NHL Top 10 - Top Olympic |NBCSN |10:30 p.m.|
| |Hockey Moments | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |NHL Top 10 |NBCSN |11 p.m. |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |NHL Top 10 - Top Olympic |NBCSN |11 p.m. |
| |Hockey Moments | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
|Wed., |NHL Live |NBCSN |6:30 p.m. |
|February| | | |
|5 | | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |Pittsburgh at Buffalo |NBCSN |7:30 p.m. |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |NHL Revealed - Episode 3 |NBCSN |10 p.m. |
| |Premiere | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
|Thu., |Team USA vs. Canada - Women's|NBCSN |7 a.m. |
|February|Hockey Exhibition (Dec. 28) | | |
|6 | | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
|Fri., |Team USA. vs. Canada - |NBCSN |7 a.m. |
|February|Women's Hockey Exhibition | | |
|7 |(Dec. 20) | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |College Hockey - Maine at |NBCSN |7:30 p.m. |
| |Notre Dame | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
|Sat., |Women's Olympic Hockey - Team|NBCSN |3 a.m. |
|February|USA vs. Finland | | |
|8 | | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |Women's Olympic Hockey - |MSNBC |8 a.m. |
| |Canada vs. Switzerland | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |Women's Olympic Hockey - Game|NBCSN |6 p.m. |
| |of the Day | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |College Hockey - Maine at |NBCSN |8 p.m. |
| |Notre Dame | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
|Sun., |Women's Olympic Hockey - |NBCSN |3 a.m. |
|February|Sweden vs. Japan | | |
|9 | | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+
| |Women's Olympic Hockey - |MSNBC |8 a.m. |
| |Russia vs. Germany | | |
+--------+-----------------------------+-------+----------+

JANUARY 2014 REACHES MOST VIEWERS EVER FOR NHL REGULAR-SEASON ACTION IN CALENDAR MONTH ON NBC AND NBCSN

NBC Sports Group's NHL regular-season coverage reached 14.791 million viewers across NBC and NBCSN in the calendar month of January 2014, the most for a month of coverage across the two networks since they both began televising NHL games in 2006. The record was aided by the presentation of four outdoor NHL games, including the NHL Winter Classic and three NHL Stadium Series contests.

Record-breaking viewership numbers were led by the Maple Leafs-Red Wings Winter Classic on NBC, which was the second-most watched NHL regular-season game in 39 years, and NHL Stadium Series games at Dodger Stadium and Yankee Stadium featuring the Ducks, Kings, Rangers, Devils and Islanders, which all combined to set local market records in New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago on either NBC or NBCSN.

Ducks-Kings from Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25 produced a 2.38 rating in Los Angeles, the highest-ever rating in the L.A. market for an NHL regular-season game on NBCSN. Rangers-Devils from Yankee Stadium on NBC on Jan. 26 averaged 2.091 million viewers and produced a 1.3 HH rating, making it the most-watched and highest-rated NHL regular-season game ever on NBC, both excluding NHL Winter Classics. Locally, the Rangers-Devils game generated a 5.1 rating in New York, matching the highest rating in the New York market for any NHL game ever broadcast on NBC. Rangers-Islanders on NBCSN last Wednesday produced a 3.58 rating in the New York market, making it the highest-rated NHL regular-season game ever on NBCSN in that market.

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will stream this week's Olympic, NHL, and College Hockey coverage via "TV Everywhere," the media industry's effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Games airing on:

· NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;
· NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via "TV Everywhere," which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

2013-14 REGULAR-SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 103 NHL regular-season games during the 2013-14 season, featuring 13 games on NBC and 90 games on NBCSN. All games will be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra. Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group's comprehensive NHL coverage this season.

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NHL markets such as Boston (Bruins), Philadelphia (Flyers), Washington D.C. (Capitals), Chicago (Blackhawks) and the Bay Area (Sharks), will air more than 300 live NHL games and surround the 2013-14 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.

NBC SPORTS GROUP'S DIGITAL AND SOCIAL NHL COVERAGE

NBC Sports Group will continue to provide hockey fans with up-to-the-minute news, video, and information on the NHL and hockey from around the world via its digital and social properties, including NBCSports.com, Twitter and Facebook. Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group's Digital and Social NHL coverage.

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